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‘Parental Kidnapping' in California Criminal restraint by a parent in California is often described as ‘parental kidnapping'. What most parents do not know is that they can be arrested for kidnapping their own children. In fact, in most kidnappings involving children, the perpetrator is usuall...

Sometimes, Freedom isn't Free After having been sentenced to probation, the gavel bangs, and youre free to leave the courtroom. But, to what extent are you free to travel the world? The degree to which criminal probation can affect your travel plans depends on the specific terms outlined by the c...

Procedural DefenseFactual DefenseAffirmative DefenseCommon Defenses What Is a Factual Defense In Criminal Law? When a criminal defense attorney prepares to defend a client in court, they must decide which defense approach will best serve the circumstances of a case. There are a great number of po...

Justice System for Juveniles The first Juvenile Court was established in 1899 when Illinois passed the Juvenile Court Act. This court system was created to divert youth offenders from the crippling effects of adult criminal penalties, and focus on rehabilitation and supporting the youth to get th...

Harassing or Annoying Harassment is regarded as any behavior, be it physical, written, verbal, or other, that is unwanted and could offend or humiliate another person. With the mainstream popularity of smartphones and other electronic devices, some individuals have chosen to move their harassment...

Drugging Someone for Sexual Intercourse One of the key factors that come up in most sexual offense cases is whether consent was given or not. For any sexual activity committed both parties must be able to clearly state their consent to the sexual activity. However, for consent to be legal in Cali...

Investigating Arson There are four ways a fire can start in a building: accident action of nature negligence intentional Intentionally and maliciously setting fire to a building is regarded as arson. Arson occurs when a person willingly and knowingly burns a building with the intent to ...

Procedural DefenseFactual DefenseAffirmative DefenseCommon Defenses What Is An Affirmative Defense In Criminal Law? It is said in criminal law, that all criminal cases are defensible and all crimes or criminal charges are made up of specific elements, that need to be looked at from every angle po...

Undercover Police in California If you ask most individuals this question, chances are, they would probably say yes. A surprisingly large number of people all over the country believe that police are supposed to identify themselves whenever you ask them. However, this could not be further from th...

Receiving a grand jury subpoena can be intimidating, especially if you don't know why you've been called or what your legal rights are. You may worry that you're under investigation, or that saying the wrong thing could get you in trouble. Understanding what a grand jury subpoena is and how to re...

Filing Fraudulent Tax Reports Each year a percentage of the US population is required to file their taxes correctly. However, it is not out of the ordinary for an individual to falsify the information on their tax reports to get a bigger refund or land themselves in a lower tax bracket. Choosing ...

The Different Types of Liars Every human being, at one point or another, has told a lie. Whether it is to protect someones feelings or avoid an uncomfortable situation, everyone tells a lie every now and then. However, the frequency with which someone lies will depend on the type of liar they are...

2022, The New Normal There was a time when one mass shooting would shock the conscience of much of America. However, those times are long gone. America has grown accustomed to hearing news reports of mass shootings. Although the tragedy of these violent acts is never diminished, people in this co...

We are commonly asked at our offices if it's possible to reduce a felony conviction to a misdemeanor, and the answer is commonly yes. I say commonly because there are some limitations to the types of crimes that are eligible for such treatment. The two most important factors that determine if you...

The Stigma of Child Abuse Being accused of a violent or sexual offense can be very damaging for various sectors of your life, particularly if the sexual abuse crime you are implicated for involves a child. Recovering from being accused of molesting a child can be hard, even if the allegations are...

3 Types of Warrants in California If you suspect that you may have an outstanding warrant in California, we highly advise that you confirm whether your suspicions are true or not by proactively handling this issue as quickly as possible and avoid further problems with the court. Take Control of Y...

Character Evidence – CA Evidence Code 1101 EC The California Evidence Code sets out the rules of evidence for state courts. The rules of evidence, and evidentiary matters in general, are complicated, and you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to ensure that only admissible evidence is ...

Have You Ever Heard of ‘Nonconsensual Insemination'? Until recently the idea of inseminating a woman against their will with a different sperm than they expected was relatively unheard of. However, the 2022 Netflix documentary ‘Our Father' exposes this very act by a criminal fertility doctor Dona...

Tahl Waiver Despite what criminal charges an individual is facing, they have certain rights offered to them by the US constitution that need to be protected. However, in certain situations, a defendant may decide to waiver these rights before pleading guilty or no contest to a criminal offense. T...

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Under the Sixth Amendment, every criminal defendant has the right to an attorney and a fair trial. This means that the defendant has the right to hire a private defense attorney of their choosing, and if they lack the funds to hire one, a public defender will be ...

Harvey Waiver In some California cases, you may find that the accused is charged with more than one criminal offense. To avoid these charges, a defendant may choose to enter a plea bargain to plead guilty to the lesser charge so long as the prosecutor drops the other charge they are accused of. I...

💡 Key Takeaways Felony probation allows supervised community serving: Defendants can serve part or all of their sentence outside custody while reporting monthly to a probation officer and meeting court-mandated conditions. Common requirements include multiple ongoing obligations: T...

Expectations vs. Reality Most people associate first-time offenders with reduced sentences, lower fines, or being let off the hook entirely. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. In fact, a first-time offense can be the most stressful period of a person's life. When you don't know what to e...

After an Arrest, Will I Be Allowed to Remain Free? Getting arrested and accused of a crime is stressful, and scary. Suddenly, your freedom may be at risk, and depending on various factors including the seriousness of the charges, you could be taken into custody (also known as remanded) pending tr...

The Reasons Child Trafficking Happens Child trafficking is the transfer and transportation of kidnapped children for slavery, sexual exploitation, adoption, or forced labor. It can be related to the current ongoing slavery. Children are obtained as enslaved people to help in illegal activities su...